Virginia Rodino, who serves as a director for Ralph Nader's Democracy Rising and is on the administrative steering committee for the so-called antiwar group United for Peace and Justice, called for the military defeat of the United States in Iraq in an essay published July 5.In addition to her roles in Nader's Democracy Rising and United for Peace and Justice, Rodino was the Green Party's 2004 candidate for the House of Representatives for the 7th Congressional district of Maryland and the Maryland state coordinator for the 2004 presidential campaign of Nader.Rodino is currently a professor of communications at Bowie State...

Virginia Rodino, 29, a teacher from Washington DC, said that she had travelled from the US for the opportunity to protest. “My demand is for the G8 leaders to leave Scotland,” she said. “These are secret meetings, they are not even formalised, and there is no public participation. They should allow the people to make the decisions that are affecting their lives.” Asked about the significance of her T-shirt, which bore the message “Insurgent”, she said: “It means I’m in solidarity with the courageous Iraqi resistance.”